A key reason why the church is ineffective at helping people …

The church has increasingly become less effective at helping people, and a key reason is the church has transitioned from rescuing people to “tipping” people.

From the early church, we saw a faith family so vigorous in loving and caring for each other that such fellowship quite literally wiped out need among them …

“All the believers were united in heart and mind. And they felt that what they owned was not their own, so they shared everything they had. The apostles testified powerfully to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and God’s great blessing was upon them all. There were no needy people among them, because those who owned land or houses would sell them and bring the money to the apostles to give to those in need,” Acts 4:32-35.

If you think things haven’t changed much since then, let me ask you this: How many members of your local church left Sunday services this past weekend still in need?

The church used to rescue people, today we “tip” people.

Many of us may not have the means to rescue someone on our own — the same was true of many who were a part of the early church. But look at what they did: When rescuing someone in need was beyond one person’s capability, either someone who was capable stepped up, or they rallied all their resources as a faith family until the need was met.

There are many people today who have fallen into “holes” too deep for them to be able to get out of on their own. What we often do is occasionally wander by and drop a little something down the hole. That makes US feel good because we tell ourselves we have done what we can. One major problem — the person is still left in the hole!

If we’re ever going to become anything like the model of the church in the Bible, we will have to learn to care about one another as much they cared about each other, to give what we can to those in need, and to never leave someone in a hole, but instead rescue them by rallying the needed resources from among the greater body of Christ.

If you see someone in a hole, and you drop into the hole a little something or even all you personally can, do not walk away from the hole feeling you’ve done what you can. Go get get help! Rally the faithful until you have the resources to pull the person out.

We have transitioned from rescuers to tippers for the simple reason we’ve become more selfish. We want to use more of God’s blessings in our lives for ourselves, and less for others. The idea of “sacrificing” some comfort or convenience for the sake of another doesn’t set well with our politically-infused faith that argues everyone should “pull themselves up by their bootstraps” even if they don’t have any boots.

To become rescuers like the early church, we’ll need to learn the lesson of sacrificial giving.

In his book, “Dad, The Family Coach,” Dave Simmons tells of an act of sacrificial love that occurred in a shopping mall. One day he took his eight-year-old daughter Helen and five-year-old son Brandon to the Cloverdale Mall. He needed to buy some tools in Sears.

When they pulled into the mall parking lot, there was a big sign that said, “Petting Zoo.” Immediately the kids jumped up and asked, “Can we go, Daddy? Can we go? Please.” Seeing that it would be no trouble at all, and concluding that it might even make his trip quicker, Dave said, “Sure,” and handed both his kids a quarter. They bolted away as he headed for Sears.

A few minutes later he was making his way down the aisle when he spotted Helen slowly walking up behind him. She looked up at him and said, “Well, Daddy, it cost fifty cents. So, I gave Brandon my quarter.” Then she said the most beautiful thing of all. She repeated their family motto, “Love is action!”

What do you think he did? Not what you might think.

Dave finished his shopping and then took Helen back to the petting zoo. They stood by the fence watching Brandon go crazy petting and feeding the animals. Helen stood with her hands and her chin resting on the fence just watching. Dave felt fifty cents in his pocket, almost burning a hole, but he never offered it, and she never asked for it. Helen was following through with the lesson.

How about you? Have you learned the lesson of sacrificial giving? Have you learned the lesson that love is action? Would people who know you best say you’re a rescuer or a tipper?

Scotty